Cooling-fan fob motobs



H. J. ERNSTER COOLING FAN FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED ocnze. 1911.

Patented Sept. 23, 1.919.

INVENTOR zlfi'rizsier;

wlmesss ATTORNEY HENRY J. ERNSTER, 0F DEERWOOD, MINNESOTA.

coonmamn roa Morons.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 23, 1919.

Application filed October 26, 1917. Serial No. 198,663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. Enns'rnk, a citizen of the United States,residing at Deer-wood, in the county of Crow Wing and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coolmg-Fans for Motors, of which the "following 18 a specification.

This invention is a fan and has speclal reference to cooling fans forinternal combustion engines.

One object of this invention is the production of a cooling fan forengines whlch is constructed so as to regulate the volume of air drivenpast the engine owing to the changes in atmospheric conditions.

Another object of this invention is the production of a cooling fan forenglnes which is especially adapted for use in combination with theenglnes of automobiles, thus regulating the volume of air driven pastthe engine in regard to the temperature, thus relieving the necessity ofproviding adjustable shutters of the radiator or hood as well aslimiting the necessity of other complicated constructions for bringingabout this desirable feature.

Another object of this invention is the production of a cooling fan forengines which has blades adjustably mounted upon a frame, thus allowingthe blades to be adjusted for regulating their pitch, thereby causingthe blades to be so regulated as to permit a great volume of air to bedriven past the engine on warm days although the blade may be turned soas to be in practically neutral position for reventing the forcing ofair past the engine or may be turned to a reverse for counter-acting.the effect of the air which may pass into the front of the hood or.through the radiator, thus reventing the passing of chilled air into t eengine on a cool or cold day.

A still further object of this invention is the production of a coolingfan for engines which is provided with simple and efiicient means forsupporting and regulating the pitch of the blades.

With these and other objects in view this invention consists of suchnovel com inations, construction, and arrangement of parts as will behereinafter fully described and claimed.

One practical form of construction and assembly of the present inventionis illustrated and described in the accompanying drawing, in which F ire 1 is an elevation of the cooling fan assembled and constructed inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, lookinginthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail sectional vieiw of one of the inner endsof one blade an Fig. 4 is a detail perspective View of one of the dogs.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, it will be seen thatthe housing 1 1s hollow and is preferably of an elongated construction,although it is of course obvious that it may be formed of any desiredshape. This housing 1 is inclosed and may be of a sectional or any othersuitable construction. The housing 1 is provided w1th allned openings 2formed in its side portlon through which the shaft 3 projects. Thisshaft 3 is elongated and is preferably square in cross section asillustrated in Flg. 1. This shaft 3 is provided with racks 4 upon a pairof its sides, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 2 and these racks areformed so as to be carried entirely within the hous- 111%1 for purposesto be hereinafter specifie It Wlll further be noted that the ends of theshaft 3 projects for considerable distances beyond the ends or sides ofthe cas- Eng 1 for purposes to be hereinafter speci- The pair of dogs 5are carried within the housmg 1 and a dog is positioned upon each sideof the shaft 3, as shown in Fig. 2. It will be noted that these dogs 5,have reduced projections 6 extending rearwardly therefrom, thus makingthe dogs substantially sector shaped, and upon the forward edge of eachdog there is formed a rack 7. It will also be noted that a squareopening 8 projects through the projections 6 of each dog as illustratedin Fig. 1.

Each fan blade 9 is provided with a thickened neck 10 thereby forming ashoulder 11 from which extends the square shank 12 terminating in thereduced threaded extensions 13. In the form of the device hereinillustrated, it will be seen that a fan blade is carried within each endof the housing 1 so as to form the shoulder 11 of each blade to bearupon the housing for formin r a support for the fan blade. The squareshank 12 projects into the end portion of the housing 1 to pass throughthe squared opening 8 formed in the projection 6 of the jaw 5, as

illustrated in Fig. 2. The threaded extenthough the nut 14 retains thefan blade in engagement with the housing, as the nut will be firmlyretained upon the threaded extension 13, it is obvious that the pitch oftherethrou-gh an the fan'blade may be easily regulated by the turning ofthe blade.

A pulley 15 is positioned upon one of the projecting ends of the shaft 3and this pulley is adapted to receive the usual belt of the fan nowordinarily used upon the engine, such belt not being deemed necessary tobe herein shown. It is obvious that as the shaft 3 is squared and crosssectioned, rotary-motion imparted to the pulley will cause the shaft tobe rotated as will be hereinafter fully described. A sectional. clamp iscarried upon the opposite end of the shaft and this clamp comprises apair of bearing portions 16 having cars 17 extending therefrom. The twosections of the clamp are positioned upon the projecting ends of theshaft3, the ears will fit upon each other for allowin the bolts 18 to bepassed carry the usual nuts 19 for causing the two sections of the clampto be firmly held in a fixed engagement with one of the projecting endsof the shaft 3. The two sections of the clamp are provided with grooves20 to whichtlie yoke 21 of the arm 22is secured by the pins 23. It is ofcourse obvious that the arm 22 may be extended to any suitable positionfor operation by a chauffeur say for instance as being carrled upon thedash or adjacent the steering wheel.

Inorder to hold the casin 1 from longitudinal movement as the sha t 3 isshifted to adjust the blades, the collar 24 is fixed upon one surface ofthe casing as shown in Fig. 2. This collar has an annular groove 25 inwhich extends the end of the rod 26. This rod in turn can be supportedin any desired place and for this reason although it will ermit thehousing 1 to rotate it is obvious 1t will hold the housing fromlongitudinal movement along the shaft 3.

For the purpose of bringing out clearly' are squared, it is obvious thatthe housing Wlll be caused to'rotate with the shaft 3 as will thevarious elements mounted upon this housing. As a result, the fan bladewill be swung in a circle for directing. an air draft in one directionfor cooling the engine adjacent which the device is carried. If it isdesired to reduce the volume of air directed toward the engine, as forinstance when the day is cold, the chauffeur may move the arm 22 andthis will cause the sectional flange to shift slightly the shaft 3. Asthe shaft 3 is shifted, it is obvious that the intermeshing of the rackof the dogs and of the shaft will cause the dogs to be shifted in onedirection and as the squared shanks of the fan blades are connected tothe dogs, it is obvious these shanks will also be turned.

It will readily be seen that these shanks and the threaded extensions ofthe shanks constitute pivots for these dogs. shanks are turned, the fanblades 9 will also be turned and it is of course obvious that the shaft3 may be moved to turn the fan blades to the pitch desired. If the dayis cold, the fan blades may be turned so as to be in a substantiallyneutral position thus preventing the direction of a volume of air towardthe engine or if the day is very cold the blades may be slightlyreversedso as to counteract the effect of the air rushing into the forwardportion of the hood or through the radiator due to the rapid movement ofthe automobile. As a result, the engine will be protected from a coldvolume of air and for this reason may be warmed very quickly to operateefliciently even When the weather iscold. If, however, the day is verywarm, the shaft may be shifted in the opposite direction for increasingthe pitch of the blades, thus causing the blade to have a firmer gripupon the air for increasing the volume as directed past the motor orengine and in this way the temperature of the engine may be reduced to aminimum, thus preventing the over-heating of the same. Owing to the factthat the pins 23 fit within the grooves 20 and the sectional clamp. itis obvious that the clamp will rotate in unison with the shaft 3although the yoke 'will be in position at all times to easily shift theshaft for the purposes hereinbefore specified.

It is of course obvious that if so desired the shaft may be operated inany suitable manner as for instance by a thermostatic structure forautomatically shifting the blade owing to the temperature within thehood or any other suitable manual means other than the one shown while anumber of As the different ways may be employed for changing the pitchof the blade for the purposes specified. Therefore, owing to the factthat only one form of the invention has been shown inthe present case,it is not desired to limit the construction to the specific devicedisclosed as it is obvious that any changes may be made in the detailconstruction of the present invention as long as the changes do notexceed the spirit of the invention or the scope of the device asclaimed.

What is claimed is:

In a device of the class described, the combination of a substantiallyelliptical housing said housing having alined openings formed therein,remote from the ends there of, a solid shaft extending transverselythrough the housing and projecting through said openings, said shaftbeing substantially rectangular in cross section, means for shiftingsaid shaft longitudinally through said housing, means for impartingrotary motion to said shaft to rotate said housing, means for holdingthe housing from creeping along said shaft, said shaft having racksformed on opposite exterior side surfaces thereof, substantially sectorlshaped dogs carried within said housing, said dogs having racksextending entirely across the broad ends thereof and engaging the racksof said shaft, the reduced ends of said dogs being carried in thereduced ends of said housing, fan blades having souared shanks extendingthrough said housing and being carried by said dogs, threaded extensionsprojecting beyond said shank and extending from said housing, nutscarried upon said extension for holding said: blade againstdisplacement, and the sector shaped construction of said dogs permittingof free swinging movement thereof, although causing the dogs to be ofconsiderable length thus increasing the fulcrum of the shaft, wherebyeven though the blades may be cl g'ged or corroded they may be easilyshifted by movement of said shaft through said housing.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY J. ERNSTER.

Witnesses:

C. A. MARTINSON, F. M. 'SCHWANKE.

